The country’s crude oil reserves may dry up in the next 30 years, says Nigerian National Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE).President of the association, Nosa Omorodion, raised the alarm in Lagos at a media briefing to announce programme schedule for NAPE’s yearly conference.
He decried the lack of exploration in the country’s oil and gas sector, and called on the Federal Government to survey the Frontier Sedimentary Basins, which include Bida Dahomey, Anambra, Gongola, and Sokoto.
Nigeria’s crude oil production has been depleting in the last five years, dropping from 37 billion barrels to 28.2 billion, according to latest figure from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The situation has also made NNPC Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, issue warning that the country could be facing more economic challenges given steady decline of its crude oil reserves.
According to Omorodion, there is the need for government and investors to look beyond the Niger Delta to other frontiers with potential for hydrocarbon resources.
“We must work hard to increase our reserves, which is presently low. This is not good for the country,” he said.
To increase the reserves, he said: “We need to go back to the basics, conduct credible licensing rounds, and incentivise exploration. Those were the glory years that led to assertions such as ‘scratch ground small and you will find oil’. The renewed exploration drive for frontier basin is commendable. It is, however, important to ensure that serious and meaningful engagement of members of host communities to foster security and sense of belonging exists,” he hinted.
To compliment government’s efforts in boosting exploration, Omorodion said NAPE would on November 14, 2016 host a pre-conference workshop on ‘Stimulating Investment Opportunities in Nigeria’s Frontier Basins’.
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